Private security companies and humanitarians: A corporate solution to securing humanitarian spaces?

Abstract

In light of the need for humanitarian organizations to have adequate security for their operations, private security companies are now filling the void left by state forces. Little analysis, however, has been made of the impact of private security companies on the delivery of post‐Cold War humanitarian assistance. To make this analysis, the article considers the changes in humanitarian activity, the relevant services offered by private security providers, the differing issues relating to legitimacy factors and financial and political implications, and the state of the mechanisms capable of bringing about positive change in the relationship between private security companies and humanitarian organizations. In the main, the article asserts that reliance on the private security option as currently endowed, organized, and managed, while pragmatic and not without its benefits, is a highly problematic solution for humanitarians.